kyoto

Well, let me say that everyone told me how beautiful Kyoto is, and when i first got there, i thought what the hell are these people talking about? Kyoto's beauty actually takes some time to see because at first it just looks like a crowded city. However, once i got to Tokyo i REALLY realized why Kyoto is beautiful. It has trees!

But more than that. We saw the golden temple which is gold-leafed, three stories and sits in a small lake which reflects it beautifully. We saw several other temples, all beautiful in their own ways. But my fave part of Kyoto was this long narrow - very narrow - street that runs along the riverside. there is a tumultuous mix of restaurants piled one on top of the other, with narrow doorways and dark wood and curtains and signs with no english at all, and even narrower alleys leading off to other restaurants and every so often a woman in geisha-wear appears. the "street" is crowded with people. and from what i understand, some (many) of the restaurants don't want english-speakers to come in. they just want japanese speakers and so that's why there is no english in their signage.

from this street we crossed a bridge and trudged through a prostitute section (not sleazy, rather high class actually, but definitely prostitutes). we left that bright and gaudy area and went down a hushed, dark street that paralleled a canal. on the opposite side of the canal were three-story buildings and they were lit up, so we could see in every room. it was wonderful, like a multi-level play. in each room were two to six people sitting and eating and being waited on by geishas (in some of them, anyway). like watching a movie - very lovely.

we were sad to leave kyoto after five days there, but tokyo awaited. and it scared us - the big city loomed like an impenetrable miasma of haphazard buildings and streets.